As the end of seasons started to erupt, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) swim team competed in their Tri-Valley League Championship meet at the Ventura Aquatic Center on April 26, 2024. Many individuals fought in the water to secure a spot in California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), but only a select few moved on.
In the 200-yard medley relay championship final, Foothill Tech’s girls team swam first with an overall time of 2:06.74. The team consisted of first leg Rihanna Samples ‘25, second leg Mikaela Clabaugh ‘25, third leg Cynthia Hu ‘26 and fourth leg Camilla Lewis ‘25.
Clabaugh stated, “I think our season went really well. I also saw that our team really connected this year, and we all got to work together and enjoy time at practices and meets.”
Similarly, the same team performed well as they placed second in the 400-yard freestyle championship relay. Although the order was switched with Hu in first, Lewis in second, Samples in third and Clabaugh in fourth, their time was 3:59.60, four seconds behind Cate School (Cate) who took first place.
The Dragons found more relay success in the 200-yard freestyle championship relay with Caroline Vanderkooij ‘26 as first leg, Emma Flores ‘25 as second leg, Samantha Roberts ‘27 as third leg and Emily Vazquez ‘24 in fourth leg, with a time of 2:11.47, and placed second overall.
Individually, Hu performed well in many events such as the 200-yard IM championship final in which she got second place with a time of 2:11.23. Hu also placed first in the championship 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:06.92. Hu got personal bests in all four of her events that she swam.
Hu stated, “I was really excited about my 500, simply because I dropped a lot of time and got first place. Also I almost beat the boys first place, so overall it was a really great race.”
Vasquez swam in the championship 100-yard butterfly, in which she took second with a time of 1:17.67. Similarly, Samples performed well in her 100-yard backstroke, as she held second place for Foothill Tech with a time of 1:12.31.
The Foothill Tech’s boys team competed well in the 200-yard medley relay championship final which earned them third place with a time of 1:55.53. Kylan Jaeger ‘26 was first leg, Aiden Cumming ‘25 second leg, Hayden MacDougall ‘24 third leg and Ethan Ortiz ‘24 fourth leg.
MacDougall stated his acceptance with his senior season being over, “I feel relieved more than anything because it’s just one less responsibility that I have to worry about, and instead I can focus on things like working out at the gym.”
Cumming performed well in the boys’ 50-yard freestyle consolation final which earned himself second place with a time of 24.31. Similarly, Jack Merrit ‘25 raced strong in the 100-yard freestyle consolation final where he placed second with a time of 58.66.
Jaeger placed third in the 500-yard freestyle championship final with a time of 5:23.27.
Clabaugh reflected on the meet, “I think our team is really good at lifting each other up. Everybody always has at least one person cheering them on during their events, and it’s really heartening to see that.”
A select few individual Dragons and one relay team will move onto CIF prelims, while the rest of the team enjoys their season end.
